Hello, I am fresh out of the wrapper and desperately need some guidance from you seasoned teachers out there. I have a student arriving for a homestay course. She is elementary level and age 24 from Japan. She will be with me for three weeks, I will teach her 5 days per week, 3 hours per day and desperately need assistance in filling those 45 hours with good lesson material. So where do I start? I decided that this was the place to seek guidance. Do you have or know where I can obtain some effective lesson materials.

Take her out and do things with her, introduce her to people her age, and just have tons of fun. She has had lessons for years with paper, pen, text books and tapes so is probably dying to just use her English with people. She might even want to meet a fellow and stay in Canada so if you have those resources, it would be nice if you introduce her to some nice guys.

After three weeks of being her Canadian sister she will probably tell you things that she would never tell anyone in Japan. Please respect her privacy and don't repeat them to anyone else. It is amazing how things can get back to her friends, family and work in Japan and I'm sure she wouldn't want that.

Don't be fooled by her poor English or if she says that she is beginner. They are usually what we used to call False Beginners and know a lot more than they are able to produce. So don't talk to her like a beginner but do talk slowly and try for words she might know. Really listen so that she will talk as much as possible. It won't be much at first but once she has confidence in you, you won't be able to stop her.

Things in your house will be strange. She is probably used to washing outside the tub before she gets in because Japanese baths are arranged that way. You might have to show her how to use the shower curtain inside the bathtub if she showers. Sometimes they don't know about washing clothes and hang their clothes on items of furniture in the room to dry. If you have wooden furniture you will have to explain how to dry her clothes or show her how to work your washing machine and dryer if you have one. Those are just two of the problems we had.

She will want to give you presents when she comes and you want to accept them with two hands. The same if she offers you food. Of course, you can explain that we usually only use one hand to take things unless they are heavy. Display her present prominently while she is here at least.

Most young women from Japan that I know like to shop.

Turn on the subtitles on your TV - you can do that easily in the menu and I am sure she will appreciate reading English while listening to it, especially for the news.

She probably has never had a room of her own before - usually the mother sleeps in the girl's room until they leave home - so she might be a bit scared or lonely being on her own. Be sure to tell her to come to other rooms in your home when she wants to talk or she might sit in her room until called on. Try to put her in a room that is near the rest of the family.

Reassure her that it is OK to ask any question that you feel comfortable answering and remind her often so she may avoid most embarrassing moments. Have a signal with her when with a group so you can take her aside and explain what is happening and why if you see she is uncomfortable or is doing something that might make her an object of teasing. Remember Face is everything. She will want to do the right thing all the time with no mistakes but you can explain our more relaxed view of life where mistakes are opportunities for learning. In three weeks that is not going to sink in too far though.